Living as a Biblical Christian: Are You Poor? Luke 6:20

The Beatitudes could be a beautiful poem. The problem with poems is that while beautiful, they can be without substance. This verse is not just aesthetically pleasing but it holds the essential and significant truth of being happy. This verse is especially crucial for Christians because it is the first step and blessing of a believer. Being poor in spirit leads to the kingdom of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ, which is true happiness. Many famous and accomplished people seek happiness, like Alexander the Great and Ghandi, but even they failed. Many have made great attempts to be happy but ultimately failed because the truth is that man cannot be happy without Jesus.

What is happiness? Blessed and happiness are the same. True blessing or true happiness is a contentment that is not affected by circumstances. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!… Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am… I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:4,11-13) Apostle Paul wrote this from a Roman prison in the worst circumstance, yet he was rejoicing.

How to be happy? Blessed are the poor in spirit. You must be poor to be happy. This doesn’t make sense to a modern world. Even as Christians, we think the ideal is having both salvation and worldly success. Jesus says otherwise. Those who are happy have Jesus as king.

Poverty is painful. Koreans in the 1950s knew poverty. Going hungry, losing kids to poor living conditions and starvation. Some ascetics or monks choose poverty to gain spiritual standing. Being poor doesn’t automatically make you more righteous. This is not biblical. In hell there are plenty of poor people as well as rich. They misunderstand what Jesus said about the rich (Mt 19:23-26). Jesus says with God all things are possible, it’s not a matter of wealth but of Lordship.

When the Bible talks about poverty there are two kinds (a struggling poor and an utterly poor). The poverty here refers to the completely poor, someone who has nothing and needs someone else to help them. Someone this poor cannot have pride because they need help to survive. They cannot refuse help or they would die. For example, in Acts 3:2, the beggar was ‘being carried’ everyday. Poor means someone who is a nobody with nothing. These are the people who can be blessed. If you think there is something valuable outside of Jesus then you are not poor yet. You must realize that you have nothing of worth, no righteousness or good, and you need Jesus to live. Jesus put this Beatitude first because it is the beginning of happiness. Without this poverty you cannot progress through the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.

What is spirit? The spirit is the inner man (2 Cor 4:16). Mary’s spirit rejoiced at the message from the angel (Luke 1:47). The soul of man is their mind while the spirit of the soul is their heart. Every man is made in the image of God and has a soul and spirit.

What is ‘poor in spirit’?

1. Poor in spirit means you have brokenness of the heart. You have a sense of personal unworthiness. We don’t deserve anything, therefore everything must be a reason for thanks, because we are so unworthy. In Luke 5:8, Peter was happy, not because he caught a lot of fish, but because he found Jesus, while proclaiming himself to be unworthy. D. A. Carson says poor in spirit is your utter spiritual bankruptcy.
2. Also you don’t trust yourself anymore. Your confidence and satisfaction comes from Christ and His word, not yourself. Poor in spirit means the end of self and being crucified with Christ (Phil 3:3-6, Galatians 2:20) Your self-will is gone and Christ lives in you. Are you ashamed of the gospel? Do you fear man? This is a sign of your self dependance.
3. Depending on Jesus alone. The poor in spirit can depend solely on God because Christ also did the same thing. Jesus emptied himself and became a man, completely submitting to the Father (Phil 2:6-7). So who do you depend on besides Jesus? Do you count all things as loss compared to Jesus? (Phil 3:7-8) Do you remember you are a branch in the vine of Jesus without which you can do nothing? (John 15:5) The poor trust in Jesus alone.
4. Also the poor in spirit continually want more of Jesus (Psalms 41:2). This world is the wilderness and full of the dying, the poor have a thirst that only Jesus can quench. They know what they need most and that is Jesus who is the King and the Savior.

Why is being ‘poor in spirit’ so important? Unless we are poor in spirit, we are incapable of receiving God’s grace. His grace is not just for our salvation but for our daily needs. Even while commuting to work we need the grace of God. Despite being locked in the dungeon, Paul realized the grace of God was pouring over Him continually, so he could still rejoice. The poor remember that what they have now could never have been obtained without grace. Without God’s common grace and special grace we would have absolutely nothing. We must remember what we have received to continue to receive and depend on Him. The poor in spirit are always thankful, because they realize this wonderful truth of grace and can appreciate how precious Jesus is.

Ultimately if you are not poor in spirit then you can’t become a Christian. Jesus said enter through the narrow gate. (Luke 13:23-24) Those with a lot of clutter cannot pass through the narrow gate. You cannot hold on to your self-worth. To pass through you must let go of all things. Being poor in spirit deflates the person so they can fit through the narrow gate. Knowing the doctrines in your head is not enough for knowledge puffs up but you must be poor in your heart.

Also, to pass through the narrow gate, you must be humble. Pride is the sin that goes directly against humility. The world praises the proud and shames the humble (Obadiah 1:3). Until Jesus said ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit’ no one wanted to be humble. But now, because of Jesus, we know true blessed humility.

Materialism is another sin that plagues the modern church. Both the churches and its people love money and measure their success monetarily. In Revelation 3:17, Jesus gives a brutal indictment against the materialistic church. Ultimately, materialism is idolatry. Money is the god who feeds them and brings them comfort and joy. This is not how one enters through the narrow gate.

How to be poor in spirit? We must follow the example of Jesus. While being tempted by the devil in the wilderness, He was led by the Holy Spirit and responded to Satan’s temptations with God’s word. Be filled with the Holy Spirit every day. Follow the Holy Spirit by being in the word of God every day. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit, who is their seal of salvation (Galatians 5:26, Colossians 3:16). It is a matter of seeking and being filled by Him. We know that God answers faithfully all the time (Psalms 65:5). So when we read the word, our sins are revealed, we are corrected so we repent and the Holy Spirit fills us up. This is the blessed life of the Christian.